PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 2,156 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,938 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ASB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $334,522,000 after acquiring an additional 184,813 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mairs & Power Inc. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 399,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after purchasing an additional 48,432 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,652,000 after buying an additional 728,555 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 440,620 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,425,000 after buying an additional 210,433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.78.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Associated Banc news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $106,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at $806,591.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,449.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.4 %

Associated Banc stock opened at $20.57 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $15.16 and a fifty-two week high of $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.00 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 6.86%. The company’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Associated Banc Company Profile

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit.